Construction machine on which counterweight provided with muffler is mounted

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a construction machine in which a muffler for reducing the noise of exhaust gas emitted from the engine is mounted inside a counterweight. According to the present invention, the construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted comprises: an upper frame pivotably mounted on a lower moving body; a driver compartment and an engine compartment mounted on the upper frame; a suction pipe communicating with the exhaust pipe of an engine mounted in the engine compartment, and into which exhaust gas flows; a muffler main body for reducing the noise of inflowing exhaust gas by means of a noise reducing device therein; a muffler comprising an exhaust pipe which emits the muffled exhaust gas to the outside; a working tool pivotably mounted on the front end of the upper frame and consisting of a boom, an arm, and a bucket which are respectively driven by a hydraulic cylinder; and a counterweight mounted on the rear end of the upper frame and having a compartment formed so as to mount the muffler therein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted. More particularly, the present invention relates to a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted, in which the muffler for reducing a noise of a high temperature and high pressure exhaust gas emitted from an engine is mounted at the inside of the counterweight.

BACKGROUND ART

As shown in FIG. 1, an excavator to which the prior art is applied includes:

a lower traveling structure 1;

an upper frame 2 pivotably mounted on the lower traveling structure 1;

an operator's cab 3 and an engine room 4 which are mounted on the upper frame 2;

an attachment 11 rotatably mounted at a front end of the upper frame 2 and including a boom 6, an arm 8, and a bucket 10 that are driven by respective hydraulic cylinders 5, 7 and 9; and

a counterweight 12 a mounted at a rear end of the upper frame.

A muffler 17 for a construction machine in accordance with the prior art as shown in FIG. 2 includes: an intake pipe 13 mounted on a cowl frame 16 defining an sidewall of an engine room having an engine, a pump or the like built therein, and configured to fluidically communicate with an exhaust pipe of the engine to allow a high temperature and high pressure exhaust gas to flow into the intake pipe; a muffler body 14 including a noise reduction device consisting of a baffle plate, a pipe and the like provided therein, and configured to lower the temperature and pressure of the exhaust gas that flows into the intake pipe 13 to reduce a noise of the exhaust gas; and a discharge pipe 15 configured to discharge the noise-reduced exhaust gas to the outside.

The muffler 17 as mentioned above is mounted on the cowl frame 16. In this case, the muffler 17 is positioned at an upper portion of the cowl frame 16 due to the positional restriction of a diffuser of the muffler 17. For this reason, the center of gravity of the muffler becomes high, thereby deteriorating the structural stability of the cowl frame 16.

In addition, a narrow space in the engine room cannot be efficiently utilized due to the position of the muffler 17 mounted on the cowl frame 16. For example, a work space for a hydraulic pump or the like to be maintained is not sufficient. Moreover, there is caused a problem in that when a sound absorbing material provided in the engine room 4 is adjacent to the discharge pipe, there is a high risk that a fire will occur due to combustion of the inflammable material caused by the high temperature and high pressure exhaust gas emitted from the engine during the operation of the machine.

Further, an increase in the inner volume of the muffler leads to an increase in weight and size of the muffler so that an efficiency of reducing a noise of the exhaust gas can be increased owing to the regulation of the exhaust gas from the construction machine. Resultantly, there occurs a problem in that an additional mechanical strength of the cowl frame 16 is required.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted, in which the muffler is mounted at the inside of the counterweight so as to secure a work space in an engine room so that a worker can easily access the space during the maintenance of a hydraulic pump or the like, thereby improving workability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted, in which the muffler through which a high-temperature exhaust gas passes is separated from the engine room in which an inflammable material such as a sound absorbing material is mounted so that a risk of fire occurrence can be reduced during the operation of the machine.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted, in which the muffler that has a heavy weight is isolated from a cowl frame so that the structural stability of the cowl frame can be ensured.

Technical Solution

To achieve the above objects, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted, including:

a lower traveling structure;

an upper frame pivotably mounted on the lower traveling structure;

an operator's cab and an engine room which are mounted on the upper frame;

a muffler including an intake pipe fluidically communicating with an exhaust pipe of an engine mounted in the engine room to allow an exhaust gas to flow into the intake pipe, a muffler body configured to reduce a noise of the exhaust gas that flows into the intake pipe through a noise reduction device provided therein, and a discharge pipe configured to discharge the noise-reduced exhaust gas to the outside;

an attachment rotatably mounted at a front end of the upper frame 2 and including a boom, an arm, and a bucket that are driven by respective hydraulic cylinders; and

a counterweight mounted at a rear end of the upper frame and having a space portion formed therein to accommodate the muffler.

Advantageous Effect

The preparation method in accordance with the present invention as constructed above has the following advantages.

Since the mounting position of the muffler is shifted to the inside of the counterweight, a space is secured in the engine room so that a worker can easily access the space during the maintenance of a hydraulic pump or the like, thereby improving workability.

In addition, since the muffler through which a high-temperature exhaust gas passes is separated from the engine room in which an inflammable material such as a sound absorbing material is mounted, a risk of fire occurrence can be reduced during the operation of the machine.

Moreover, since the muffler that has a heavy weight is isolated from the cowl frame, an additional mechanical strength of the cowl frame needs not to be secured, and the center of gravity of the muffler is relatively low, and thus the structural stability of the cowl frame can be ensured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects, other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an excavator to which the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a muffler for a construction machine in accordance with the prior art is mounted on a cowl frame;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a muffler is mounted in a counterweight in a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a muffler is mounted in a counterweight in a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

EXPLANATION ON REFERENCE NUMERALS OF MAIN ELEMENTS IN THE DRAWINGS

-   -   12 a: counterweight     -   13: intake pipe     -   14: muffler body     -   15: discharge pipe     -   17: muffler     -   18: space portion     -   19: cover

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The matters defined in the description, such as the detailed construction and elements, are nothing but specific details provided to assist those of ordinary skill in the art in a comprehensive understanding of the invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed hereinafter.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, includes

a lower traveling structure 1;

an upper frame 2 pivotably mounted on the lower traveling structure 1;

an operator's cab 3 and an engine room 4 which are mounted on the upper frame 2;

a muffler 17 including an intake pipe (denoted by a reference numeral 13 in FIG. 2) fluidically communicating with an exhaust pipe of an engine mounted in the engine room 4 to allow an exhaust gas to flow into the intake pipe 13, a muffler body 14 configured to reduce a noise of the exhaust gas that flows into the intake pipe 13 through a noise reduction device (e.g., a baffle plate, a pipe and the like) provided therein, and a discharge pipe 15 configured to discharge the noise-reduced exhaust gas to the outside;

an attachment 11 rotatably mounted at a front end of the upper frame 2 and including a boom 6, an arm 8, and a bucket 10 that are driven by respective hydraulic cylinders 5, 7 and 9; and

a counterweight 12 a mounted at a rear end of the upper frame 2 and having a space portion 18 formed therein to accommodate the muffler 17.

A non-explained reference numeral 19 denotes a cover configured to prevent foreign substances such as rainwater and the like from being introduced into the muffler accommodating space portion 18.

In this case, a configuration of the construction machine in accordance with the present invention is the same as that of the construction machine shown in FIG. 1, except the counterweight 12 a having the space portion 18 formed therein to accommodate the muffler 17 including the intake pipe 13, the muffler body 14, and the discharge pipe 15. Thus, the detailed description of the same configuration and operation thereof will be omitted to avoid redundancy, and the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Hereinafter, a use example of the construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the muffler 17 consisting of the intake pipe 13, the muffler body 14, and the discharge pipe 15 is accommodatingly mounted in the muffler accommodating space portion 18 formed in the counterweight 12 a.

In this case, an intrinsic configuration of the muffler 17 in which an exhaust gas emitted from the engine during the start-up of the engine flows into the muffler body 14 through the intake pipe 13, a noise of the exhaust gas flowing into the muffler body 14 is reduced by the noise reduction device provided in the muffler body 14, and the noise-reduced exhaust gas is discharged to the outside through the discharge pipe 15 is a technology commonly used in the art, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, since the muffler 17 is accommodatingly mounted in the muffler-accommodating space portion 18 formed in the counterweight 12 a, a space occupied by the muffler 17 in the engine room 4 is utilized as a work space so that a worker can easily access the space during the maintenance of a hydraulic pump or the like, thereby improving workability. In addition, components such as a hydraulic hose or the like can be efficiently arranged in a narrow space in the engine room 4.

Further, since the mounting position of the muffler 17 that has a heavy weight is shifted to the counterweight 12 a from a cowl frame 15, an additional mechanical strength of the cowl frame 16 needs not to be secured. Moreover, the center of gravity of the muffler 17 is relatively lower than that in a position where the muffler 17 is mounted at the cowl frame 16, and the muffler 17 is arranged in the rear of the machine, thereby increasing stability.

Besides, the muffler 17 through which a high-temperature exhaust gas passes is arranged at the counterweight 12 a that is far away from an inflammable material such as a sound absorbing material mounted in the engine room 4 during the operation of the machine, leading to a reduction in risk of fire occurrence due to combustion of the inflammable material.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

In accordance with the present invention as constructed above, since the mounting position of the muffler is shifted to the inside of the counterweight, a space is secured in the engine room so that a worker can easily access the space during the maintenance of a hydraulic pump or the like, thereby improving workability. In addition, since the muffler is separated from the engine room in which an inflammable material is mounted, a risk of fire occurrence can be reduced during the operation of the machine. Moreover, since the muffler is isolated from the cowl frame, an additional mechanical strength of the cowl frame needs not to be secured, and the center of gravity of the muffler is relatively low, and thus the structural stability of the cowl frame can be ensured.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings, they are merely illustrative, and the invention is not limited to these embodiments. It is to be understood that various equivalent modifications and variations of the embodiments can be made by a person having an ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the true technical scope of the present invention should not be defined by the above-mentioned embodiments but should be defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A construction machine on which a counterweight having a muffler is mounted, comprising: a lower traveling structure; an upper frame pivotably mounted on the lower traveling structure; an operator's cab and an engine room which are mounted on the upper frame; a muffler including an intake pipe fluidically communicating with an exhaust pipe of an engine mounted in the engine room to allow an exhaust gas to flow into the intake pipe, a muffler body configured to reduce a noise of the exhaust gas that flows into the intake pipe through a noise reduction device provided therein, and a discharge pipe configured to discharge the noise-reduced exhaust gas to the outside; an attachment rotatably mounted at a front end of the upper frame and including a boom, an arm, and a bucket that are respectively driven by hydraulic cylinders; and a counterweight mounted at a rear end of the upper frame and having a space portion 18 formed therein to accommodate the muffler. 